Fortalecer Raíces y Formar Alas: Empowerment, Advancement, and Retention of Latinx Educators and Leaders in Cath o lic Schools

Abstract

While Latinx chil dren are the fastest-growing seg ment of the U.S. school pop u lation, the majority of Latinx Catho lic school children may never be instructed or led by a Latinx teacher, prin-ci pal, or admin istrator. This is a lamentable gap given that a shared stu dent and teacher identity (i.e., home language, ethnicity, back ground knowl edge, lived experiences) can lead to improved academic outcomes (Dixon, 2017) and non-academic outcomes (Carver-Thomas, 2018), that Latinx educators have conveyed a more profound sense of ded ication and belong ing when their identity is rec og nized and valued (Flores et al., 2018), and that there are persistent chal lenges in the retention of Latinx educators (Ocasio, 2019). To address these gaps, a year-long formation pro gram was devel oped for Latinx educators and leaders in Catho lic schools. Through sur veys and inter views from par ticipants in the first cohort, insights and evidence in this pilot study are shared in regard to the impact of the affin ity group experience upon empowerment, advancement, and retention of Latinx leadership in Catho lic education. Implications discuss how educator and leadership formation pro grams can support the needs of Latinx edu cators and leaders in Catho lic edu cation.